Genoa native Pietro Germi briefly attended the Instituto Nautico before entering Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematographia . There he studied acting and directing, supporting himself with a number of bottom-level movie industry jobs. In 1946, he directed his first film, Il Testimone, which he also co-scripted. Almost immediately tagged as a “neorealist,” Germi actually had more in common stylistically and thematically with American director John Ford (whom he deeply admired) than his Italian contemporaries. By the mid-1950s, Germi had pretty much abandoned drama in favor of satirical comedy, often utilizing the poverty-stricken regions of Sicily as his backdrop. Germi’s Divorce Italian Style (1961) was a huge worldwide box-office hit which earned him an Oscar for “Best Screenplay” (in collaboration with Alfredo Giannetti and Ennio de Concini). In 1965, he was co-recipient of the Cannes festival “Best Picture” award for Signore e signori, released in the U.S. as The Birds, the Bees… read more
Grande spessore, grande umanità, un film che mi ha commosso per la grande interpretazione di Tognazzi (mostruoso come al solito nella interpretazione psichica dei personaggi), Sandrelli agli esordi bellissima, pieno di vita, la vita quella vera. A mio parere è da vedere assolutamente, tutto ciò che posso dire è che ho visto dolcezza, eleganza e attualità, grande grande umanità..
